Abstract
Reactivity hypothesis states that subjects showing an augmented blood pressure reactivity to standardized mental stressor (pressor test) may be at risk of developing hypertension, and in its stronger form, that such hyperreactivity plays a causal role. In the present review, the hypothesis was revaluated, applying the concepts of reliability and validity of psychological tests to the pressor test. Assessment was done on intra-test, inter-test, and test-episode (lab-life) reliabilities, and on predictive validities in a broad (as a predictor) and a narrow (as a contributor) sense, as well as on concurrent validity in a broad sense (the test vs. family history of hypertension). Collectively, the pressor tests seemed to be, at most, moderately reliable and valid and consequently the content of reactivity hypothesis could not be fully affirmed.
